US20200062074A1 - Methods and apparatus for vehicle climate control using distributed sensors - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for vehicle climate control using distributed sensors are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes receiving data from sensors distributed within a vehicle at a first controller, processing the data at the first controller to identify an event associated with the interior of the vehicle and sending an instruction based on the event from the first controller to a second controller of the vehicle to affect an operation of a climate control system of the vehicle.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
• This disclosure relates generally to climate control systems and, more particularly, to vehicle climate control using distributed sensors.
BACKGROUND
• In recent years, vehicle climate control systems (e.g., Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems) have become more sophisticated. In particular, climate control systems in vehicles often allow for individual adjustments to ensure both a driver and passenger(s) are comfortable. For example, air quality sensors near vents may measure pollutants in the air and send a signal to the climate control system. The climate control system may respond to the signal by actuating vents to cool or heat the vehicle using air within the cabin (i.e., recirculated air) to isolate the occupants of the vehicle from the outside pollutants.
SUMMARY
• An example method includes receiving data from sensors distributed within a vehicle at a first controller and processing the data at the first controller to identify an event associated with the interior of the vehicle. The example method also includes sending an instruction based on the event from the first controller to a second controller of the vehicle to affect an operation of a climate control system of the vehicle.
• An example apparatus includes a first controller to receive data from sensors distributed within a vehicle, process the data to identify an event associated with the interior of the vehicle and send an instruction based on the event. The example apparatus also includes a second controller of the vehicle to affect an operation of a climate control system of the vehicle based on the instruction.
• An example tangible computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to at least receive data from sensors distributed within a vehicle, process the data to identify an event associated with the interior of the vehicle and send an instruction based on the event to affect an operation of a climate control system of the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 depicts an example vehicle climate control system in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure.
• FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an example vehicle climate control system that may be used to implement the example vehicle climate control system ofFIG. 1.
• FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an example sensor network that may be implemented with the examples disclosed herein.
• FIG. 4 depicts an example access point that may be implemented with the examples disclosed herein.
• FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of an example virtual sensor network that may be implemented in conjunction with the examples disclosed herein.
• FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a vehicle climate control system that may be implemented with the examples disclosed herein.
• FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of an example method that may be implemented by the example climate control system ofFIG. 6.
• FIG. 8 is a flowchart representative of an example method that may be executed to perform the method ofFIG. 7 to implement the example climate control system ofFIG. 6.
• FIG. 9 is a flowchart representative of an example method that may be executed to perform the method ofFIG. 7 to implement the example climate control system ofFIG. 6.
• FIG. 10 is a processor platform that may be used to execute instructions to implement the methods ofFIGS. 7, 8 and/or 9 and the example climate control system ofFIG. 6.
• The figures are not to scale. Instead, to clarify multiple layers and regions, the thickness of the layers may be enlarged in the drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying written description to refer to the same or like parts. As used in this patent, stating that any part (e.g., a layer, film, area, or plate) is in any way positioned on (e.g., positioned on, located on, disposed on, or formed on, etc.) another part, means that the referenced part is either in contact with the other part, or that the referenced part is above the other part with one or more intermediate part(s) located therebetween. Stating that any part is in contact with another part means that there is no intermediate part between the two parts.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• Methods and apparatus for vehicle climate control using distributed sensors are disclosed. Known climate control systems of vehicles may be limited in terms of control as well as accuracy in detecting or measuring vehicle cabin conditions. Such known systems may only measure temperature at one or two locations within the vehicle cabin, humidity at a single location, use a single sensor to measure an incident pollutant from outside air, etc. As a result, many known vehicle climate control systems are unable to measure or detect temperature at many locations within a vehicle cabin, temperature gradients across these locations, air quality variations throughout the vehicle cabin, etc. Also, many known vehicle climate control systems do not employ open-sourced development and/or an ability to develop specialized applications and/or later added compatibility with newer sensors and/or sensory systems.
• The examples described herein enable more effective and customizable control of vehicle climate control systems. More specifically, the examples described herein, may be used to detect localized conditions or events within a vehicle interior or cabin and to change or affect an operation of a climate control system of the vehicle to mitigate or otherwise respond to the detected conditions or events. For example, the examples described herein may detect an event such as a spill of liquid within the vehicle cabin, a localized temperature event such as identifying an area of the vehicle cabin that is relatively warmer or cooler than the remainder of the vehicle cabin due to sunlight, an open window, etc., detection of an air pollutant such as cigarette smoke, poor quality outside air entering the vehicle cabin via a window or outside air vent, food odors, etc. In response to detection of such events, the examples described herein may send one or more instructions to a controller of a climate control system of the vehicle to affect an operation of the climate control system in a manner that serves to mitigate, alleviate, or otherwise address the detected events.
• For example, based on data received from the sensors distributed within a cabin of a vehicle, the controller may identify wetness in the carpet at a temperature that could lead to mold and bacteria growth. When this occurs, the controller may send one or more instructions to operate the climate control system to dry the carpet at the location of the wet carpet. Additionally, the controller may cause the climate control system to operate in full recirculation mode (e.g., roll up windows, close an inlet door, operate a blower) and/or full dehumidification (e.g., operate a heater core and an evaporator). Further, vent doors may be directed to focus warm, dry air on the carpet to dry the carpet in a short amount of time.
• To detect or measure localized conditions or events throughout a vehicle cabin, the examples described herein employ sensors distributed throughout the vehicle cabin. Additionally, the examples described herein may also use information or data from sources external to the vehicle such as information received from web services, etc. to generate instruction(s) that affect the operation of the vehicle climate control system. For example, the web services may provide virtual sensor information, driver/occupant preference data, and/or external condition data (e.g., weather information, traffic, external air conditions, pollution patterns, allergy/pollen information, etc.) to the controller for processing. In some examples, virtual sensor information may include sensor data obtained from other vehicle(s), other location(s), base station(s) (e.g., weather stations) and/or web services that forward data/information to a virtual sensor network. As a result, the sensor data from virtual sensors can be used by a mobile device. The controller may process the external condition data and identify high pollen counts in an area toward which the vehicle is traveling, for example. As a result, the controller may instruct the climate control system to actuate vents and recirculate internal air prior to passing through the identified area.
• In the examples described herein, the sensors distributed throughout the vehicle cabin may be passively powered, wireless sensors that sense temperature(s), humidity, air contaminants or pollutants, etc. These distributed sensors may communicate with a controller of the vehicle via one or more access point devices, which serve to route the communications of the sensors and may also provide electrical power to the sensors via signals that are transmitted (e.g., broadcast) by the access point devices (also generally referred to herein as “access points”) to the sensors.
• The vehicle controller in communication with the access points may receive/obtain sensor data, process/filter sensor data and/or data associated with the sensor data (e.g., control inputs based on the sensor data) to identify events. As noted above, events such as localized temperature anomalies, spills, air pollutants, etc. may be detected or measured via one or more of the sensors and the sensors may communicate corresponding measurement data to a controller of the vehicle via the access point(s). The controller in communication with the access point(s) may receive the measurement data and process the measurement data to identify the event(s) and corresponding location(s) of the events. As described in greater detail below, the location(s) of the identified event(s) may be determined by determining the locations of the sensors that detected the conditions associated with the event(s). In other words, because the examples described herein utilize sensors distributed throughout the cabin of the vehicle, each of the sensors collects data corresponding to a relatively well-defined localized area within the vehicle cabin. As such, when a sensor detects a condition associated with an event, the examples described herein may use the location of the sensor as a proxy or an approximation for the location of the event. In some examples, the location of each sensor may be known at the time of manufacture of the vehicle or at the time of installation of the sensor. In those examples, the location data may be stored in the controller and/or access points. In other examples, the access points and/or the controller may determine the location(s) of the sensor(s) associated with an event by measuring signal strength and arrival time of high frequency signals (e.g., 24/64 GHz signals) transmitted by the sensors. To locate the sensors, the access points may use geolocation, differential time of arrival and/or range-triangulation. The access points may determine their locations in a similar manner.
• In the examples described herein, the controller in the vehicle may identify a personal mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet, a laptop, etc.) is present and communicatively coupled to the controller. In these examples, the personal mobile device may be communicatively coupled via a universal serial bus (USB) connection, Bluetooth wireless communications, etc. to the vehicle controller. The controller may interact with an application on the personal mobile device to identify the personal mobile device and retrieve user parameters corresponding to the person associated with the personal mobile device to affect an operation of the climate control system based on the user parameters. For example, temperatures settings, an allergy, or any other vehicle cabin preferences and/or personal information may be communicated from the personal mobile device to the controller of the vehicle (e.g., the same controller with which the access points and, thus, sensors communicate).
• Alternatively, the presence and location of a person (e.g., a driver, passenger, etc.) may be detected using one or more of the sensors distributed throughout the cabin of the vehicle. For example, high radiant heat and/or carbon dioxide detected by sensors proximate the driver's seat may be used to determine that a person is located in the driver's seat. In these examples, the controller in the vehicle may prompt the detected person for any climate control preferences or may use default values associated with typical values found to be comfortable by the average person.
• FIG. 1 depicts an example vehicleclimate control system100 in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. The example vehicleclimate control system100, which is implemented in anexample vehicle102, includes anexample vehicle controller104,access points106a-f,sensors108a-kdistributed throughout a cabin110 of thevehicle102 and external to the cabin110 of the vehicle (e.g., thesensor108k), and aclimate controller112 to direct control of vents114a-das well as other devices of theclimate control system100 as described in connection withFIG. 6 below. As shown, one or more personalmobile devices116a-bmay be present (e.g., carried by one or more respective people) within the vehicle cabin110 and, as described in more detail below, may interact with thevehicle controller104.
• To direct control of the vehicleclimate control system100, thevehicle controller104 sends signals to theaccess points106 initiating the collection of measurement data (e.g., temperatures, humidity values, solar radiation levels, air movements, chemical concentrations, etc.) from thesensors108. More specifically, in response to a signal from thevehicle controller104 to collect measurement data, eachaccess point106 beacons or broadcasts a high frequency (e.g., a 20-24 GHz) signal to one or more of thesensors108 associated with thataccess point106. In some examples, each of thesensors108 may be assigned to communicate via a respective one of the access points106. In such examples, each of thesensors108 is only responsive to communications from its assignedaccess point106 and, thus, is not responsive to the beacons or broadcast signals from other access points106. In other examples, thesensors108 may communicate via different ones of theaccess points106 at different times depending, for example, on which access point signal may have been first received, which access point signal is currently strongest at eachaccess point106, etc.
• In some examples, thesensors108 are passive devices that obtain electrical power from the signals broadcast by the access points106. In these examples, upon receiving a signal from anaccess point106, asensor108 assigned to thataccess point106, or otherwise configured to communicate via thataccess point106, may become active (e.g., exit a sleep mode) and transmit measurement data to theaccess point106. The measurement data collected by theaccess points106 from thesensors108 may be associated with sensor location information. For example, upon receiving measurement data from asensor108, anaccess point106 may use the arrival time of the signal from thesensor108 and/or the strength of the signal received from thesensor108 to determine a location of the sensor108 (e.g., within the cabin110 of thevehicle102 or external to the cabin110 of the vehicle in the case of thesensor108k). Alternatively, thesensor108 may provide a location code or information together with any measurement data sent to theaccess point106, or an identification code of thesensor108 may be used to look up a location of thesensor108 stored in theaccess point106 or thevehicle controller104. In examples where the locations of thesensors108 are provided by thesensors108 or stored in theaccess points106 or thevehicle controller104, such location information may be established at the time thevehicle102 is manufactured or at the time thesensors108 are installed in thevehicle102. For example, thesensor108 may be programmed with a location within thevehicle102. In other examples, theaccess point106 may associate a network address of thesensor108 with a location.
• The access points106 send measurement data together with any sensor location information to thevehicle controller104 for processing. Thevehicle controller104 may process the received data to identify one or more environmental conditions, changes and/or events within or external to the cabin110 of thevehicle102 and the corresponding locations of those identified conditions, changes or events. In response to identifying certain environmental conditions, changes or events within or external to the cabin110, thevehicle controller104 may send instructions, commands or signals to theclimate controller112 to affect the operation of theclimate control system100. In particular, theclimate controller112 may send one or more instructions, commands or signals to affect the operation of theclimate control system100 in locations of the cabin110 corresponding to the location(s) of the identified environmental changes, conditions or events.
• In one example, thevehicle controller104 sends signals to theaccess points106 initiating the collection of measurement data from thesensors108. Specifically, eachaccess point106 broadcasts a high frequency signal to one or more of thesensors108, thesensors108 become active, obtain measurements and transmit measurement data to the access points106. If a passenger in thevehicle102 has spilled liquid (e.g., a beverage) in a location118 of the vehicle cabin110, the sensor108jmay detect a wetness of the carpeting (e.g., via a humidity change) near the location118. In turn, theaccess point106b,which is nearest to the sensor108j,may receive the measurement data (e.g., the humidity data) from the sensor108jand send this measurement data to thevehicle controller104. Thevehicle controller104 may process this measurement data together with location information (e.g., the location of the sensor108j) to generate one or more commands that are sent to theclimate controller112. The one or more commands received by theclimate controller112 may command additional ventilation to be provided to the location118 via the vent(s)114cand/or114d,thereby facilitating a more rapid drying of the location118.
• In some examples, thevehicle controller104 may identify the presence of a passenger along with themobile device116bwhich, in some examples, is communicatively coupled to thevehicle controller104. In examples when the passenger is present, prior to operating thevents114c,114d,thevehicle controller104 may prompt the passenger via themobile device116bto authorize the operation of thevents114c,114d.If the request is authorized, theclimate controller112 operates thevents114c,114dto dry the carpet in the location118. However, if the request is not authorized, thevehicle controller104 may postpone the operation until the passenger is no longer within thevehicle102.
• In the described examples, thevehicle controller104 directly controls (e.g., via control signals, input command signals, etc.) theclimate controller112. However, in other examples, themobile devices116 relay the sensor data from theaccess points106 to theexample vehicle controller104 which, in turn, directs theclimate controller112. Additionally or alternatively, theexample vehicle controller104 at least partially controls (e.g., in conjunction with the mobile devices116) theclimate controller112 based on other internal sensors (e.g., wired sensors) of thevehicle102. In such examples, themobile devices116 may convey sensor data to thevehicle controller104.
• While the distributedsensors108 are shown in this example, any appropriate number, type and/or combination of sensors may be used. For example, sensors, which may be external (e.g., an external sensor) or internal (e.g., an internal sensor) to a vehicle, can include, but are not limited to, particulate sensors (e.g. biological sensors, smoke sensors that detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, detectors of soot, water, mineral or oil, etc.), chemical/gas sensors (e.g., humidity, biological byproducts, plastic evaporation, combustion byproducts, etc.), thermodynamic sensors (e.g., temperature sensors, barometric sensors, solar radiation and/or position sensors, three-dimensional cabin airflow), and/or biometric sensors (e.g., skin temperature, metabolic rate, ketosis breath, breath, infrared, facial expressions, spectral analysis, etc., electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG), brain waves, driver awakeness (eyes), erythema, etc.). In some examples, the biometric sensors may be implanted under the skin of an individual and/or contained within wearables (e.g., clothing, bags, etc.).
• FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an example vehicleclimate control system200 that may be used to implement the example vehicleclimate control system100 ofFIG. 1. The example vehicleclimate control system200 includes thevehicle controller104, theaccess points106, thesensors108, theclimate controller112 and themobile devices116. Theexample vehicle controller104 includes asensor interface202, adata analyzer204, aninstruction generator206, aparameter analyzer208 and aclimate control interface210. Theexample access points106 include adata collector212 and alocation determiner214. Each of theexample sensors108 includes ameasurement collector216. Theexample climate controller112 includes aninstruction analyzer218 and aclimate operator220. Each of the examplemobile devices116 includes apreference selector222. Additionally, as described in greater detail below, the vehicleclimate control system200 may also access one ormore web services224 to perform various climate control functions.
• Themeasurement collectors216 of the illustrated example collect measurement data related to thevehicle102. In particular, themeasurement collectors216 of thesensors108 measure environmental conditions of the interior and exterior of thevehicle102 for processing by thevehicle controller104. To measure a condition associated with an event, thevehicle controller104 initiates the collection of measurement data by transmitting a signal to the access points106. According to the illustrated example, theaccess points106 beacon thesensors108, which activates themeasurement collectors216 to collect measurement data.
• Within each of theaccess points106, the measurement data transmitted by themeasurement collectors216 is collected by arespective data collector212. Thelocation determiners214 measure arrival time and signal strength of signals ofsensors108 from which measurement data is received to determine the respective locations of thesensors108. Alternatively, thelocation determiner214 may identify the locations of thesensors108 using identification codes received with the measurement data where each code corresponds to a location within thevehicle102. Eachaccess point106 may transmit any received measurement data together with associated or corresponding location information to thevehicle controller104 for further processing.
• The measurement data and location information transmitted by the access points106 is received by thesensor interface202 of thevehicle controller104. Thesensor interface202 then conveys the measurement data and location information to the data analyzer204 for processing. The data analyzer204 processes the measurement data and the location information to detect and identify an event and a location of the event. To detect if an event has occurred, thedata analyzer204 may process the measurement data and location information and compare the measurement data and the location information to one or more thresholds and/or combinations of thresholds corresponding to known types of events. For example, the measurement data may indicate an abnormally high humidity level in a certain location of the vehicle cabin110, indicating the likelihood of a spill of a liquid (e.g., a beverage) at that location. In another example, the measurement data may indicate an abnormally high level of an airborne contaminant in a particular location within the vehicle cabin110, indicating the possibility of a food odor or the like. Various event scenarios may be stored within thevehicle controller104 in the form of thresholds associated with various measurement parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, particulate or contaminant levels, etc.) and, if appropriate, locations associated with those scenarios. Thus, thedata analyzer204 may access the threshold and/or the location information associated with these scenarios and evaluate the received measurement data and location information against (e.g., compare the measurement data to) these thresholds and locations to find a likely match.
• Additionally or alternatively, thedata analyzer204 may analyze external conditions of thevehicle102, which may be received from one or more of thesensors108 and/or theweb services224, to identify an event. For example, theweb services224 may indicate heavy construction, a large industrial plant, a high pollen level, a high smog level, etc. in an area toward which thevehicle102 is traveling. The data analyzer204 may, for example, associate such conditions as scenarios in which it is desirable to operate theclimate control system200 in recirculation mode to isolate passengers in thevehicle102 from irritating pollutants.
• If an event is detected by thedata analyzer204, information indicative of the identified event is conveyed to theinstruction generator206, which may generate one or more instructions based on the identified event to be sent to theclimate controller112 via theclimate control interface210 to affect an operation of theclimate control system200 to mitigate or otherwise respond to the event and/or change an environmental condition within the cabin110 of thevehicle102.
• Theparameter analyzer208 analyzes preference data from thepreference selectors222 of themobile devices116 for information related to user parameters, for example, such as preferred temperatures. Theparameter analyzer208 forwards the user parameters to theinstruction generator206 for processing. Theparameter analyzer208 may receive personalized vehicle occupant information from thepreference selectors222, whereby theparameter analyzer208 analyzes the vehicle occupant information to identify a desired environmental change for the cabin110 of thevehicle102. For example, theparameter analyzer208 may identify the internal temperature of the vehicle is below a desired temperature of one of the passengers associated with one of the personmobile devices116. In such an example, theparameter analyzer208 sends the information to theinstruction generator206 for processing to generate one or more instructions that are sent to theclimate controller112 via theclimate control interface210 to instruct theclimate controller112 to affect an appropriate change the environment of the cabin110 of the vehicle102 (e.g., change the temperature to a desired temperature). Additionally, theparameter analyzer208 may store data on themobile device116 carried by a passenger from one vehicle to another. For example, a passenger may use multiple vehicles to commute to work. Each time the passenger switches to another vehicle, theparameter analyzer208 may access user parameters from thepreference selector222 of themobile device116, and analyze the user parameters to identify a desired environmental change for the vehicle. In some examples, when one or more passengers with amobile device116 that stores preferences in theparameter analyzer208 are present, theparameter analyzer208 may use social decision-making algorithms to identify the best environmental change (e.g., temperature change) for the entire vehicle and/or for individual locations of the passengers.
• Theclimate controller112 analyzes instructions received from thevehicle controller104 to determine the steps necessary to operate theclimate control system200. More specifically, theinstruction analyzer218 analyzes the instructions to identify the components of theclimate control system200 that will be involved in carrying out the instructions and how those components will be operated. For example, in carrying out a response in the spilled beverage example described above, theinstruction analyzer218 may identify thevents114c,114dand a blower motor are to be operated at full capacity.
• Theinstruction analyzer218 analyzes instructions received by theclimate controller112 as noted above and may send commands or signals to theclimate operator220 to operate various components of theclimate control system200. For example, theclimate operator220 may receive commands and/or signals from theinstruction analyzer218 to actuate the vents114, operate a blower motor or fan, etc. to change the environmental condition of thevehicle102.
• While an example manner of implementing the vehicleclimate control system100 ofFIG. 1 is illustrated inFIG. 2, one or more of the elements, processes and/or devices illustrated inFIG. 2 may be combined, divided, re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further, theexample data analyzer204, theexample instruction generator206, theexample parameter analyzer208, theexample data collector212, theexample location determiner214, theexample measurement collector216, theexample instruction analyzer218, theexample climate operator220, theexample preference selector222 and/or, more generally, the example vehicleclimate control system200 ofFIG. 2 may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, for example, any of theexample data analyzer204, theexample instruction generator206, theexample parameter analyzer208, theexample data collector212, theexample location determiner214, theexample measurement collector216, theexample instruction analyzer218, theexample climate operator220, theexample preference selector222 and/or, more generally, the example vehicleclimate control system200 ofFIG. 2 could be implemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits, programmable processor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of the apparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of theexample data analyzer204, theexample instruction generator206, theexample parameter analyzer208, theexample data collector212, theexample location determiner214, theexample measurement collector216, theexample instruction analyzer218, theexample climate operator220, theexample preference selector222 is/are hereby expressly defined to include a tangible computer readable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. storing the software and/or firmware. Further still, the example vehicleclimate control system200 ofFIG. 2 may include one or more elements, processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, those illustrated inFIG. 2, and/or may include more than one of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices.
• FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of anexample sensor network300 that may be implemented with the examples disclosed herein. The example sensor network includes asensor302, access points304a-dand mobile devices306a-d.Thesensor302 may correspond to any of thesensors108 ofFIG. 1, the access points304a-dmay correspond to theaccess points106a-eofFIG. 1, and the mobile devices306a-dmay generally correspond to themobile devices116a-bofFIG. 1.
• Thesensor302 is a distributed sensor located within the interior or cabin110 of thevehicle102 and configured to communicate to a controller (e.g., the vehicle controller104) via the access points304. In some examples, a location of thesensor302 is unknown and locations of the access points304 are known. To locate thesensor302, for example, the access points304 broadcast a signal to thesensor302, which powers thesensor302 and initiates the collection of measurement data from thesensor302. In the illustrated example, thesensor302 sends a signal including measurement data to the access points304. The access points304a,304breceive the signal from thesensor302 and measure signal strength and arrival time to locate thesensor302. The access points304c,304dare out of range from thesensor302 and, thus, do not engage in location determination for thesensor302. Additionally, theaccess points304a,304bcommunicate with each other to determine the strongest signal, indicating a location of thesensor302. In the illustrated example, the signal sent to theaccess point304bis the strongest and, thus, the known location of theaccess point304bis utilized to locate thesensor302. Alternatively, thesensor302 may be installed with a location identifier stored within thesensor302 and, when sending a signal to the access points304, the location identifier may be sent to the access points304, thereby eliminating the need for the access points304 to determine the location using signal strength and/or arrival times of signals. In some examples, when a location of thesensor302 is determined, the measurement data provided by thesensor302 is tagged with a time the measurement occurred, geodetic coordinates associated with the measurement (e.g., Dearborn, Mich.) and vehicle coordinates of the measurement (e.g., driver seat).
• The access points304 communicate with each other to determine the location of thesensor302 as well as the locations of the mobile devices306. In the illustrated example, the access points304 send location signals (e.g., Bluetooth LE, Wi-Fi, etc.) to the mobile devices306 to determine locations of the mobile devices306. The access points304 measure signal strength and arrival time of signals received from the mobile devices306 to determine where the mobile devices306 are located within thevehicle102. Alternatively, the mobile devices306 may identify where they are located within thevehicle102. For example, thevehicle controller104 may prompt a user of themobile device306ato identify the current location of themobile device306aand the user may indicate the driver's seat as the current location of themobile device306a.Additionally, the mobile devices306 communicate amongst each other to support the location determination. For example, the mobile devices306 may send location signals and measure the responsive signals from the other mobile devices306 to identify locations. In some examples, thevehicle controller104 may instruct theclimate controller112 to change an environmental condition in the identified location of the mobile device306.
• FIG. 4 depicts anexample access point400 that may be used to implement the examples disclosed herein. Theexample access point400 includes apower management component402, arechargeable battery404, aprocessor406, atiming crystal408, aBluetooth radio410, which includes aBluetooth antenna412, and a Pulse Position Modulation (PPM)radio414, which includes a 24GHz antenna416 and a 64GHz antenna418.
• Thepower management component402 is used to power theaccess point400. In the illustrated example, thepower management component402 receives power from thevehicle102 via, for example, a circuit associated with lighting (e.g., a taillight circuit, a headlight circuit, etc.). Alternatively, thepower management component402 may utilize power from a direct connection to a power source (e.g., a battery) of thevehicle102.
• Therechargeable battery404 powers theaccess point400 by receiving and storing energy from thepower management component402. In some examples, thepower management component402 may utilize therechargeable battery404 to power theaccess point400 when the vehicle is off (e.g., not in use).
• Theprocessor406 coordinates the operations of all the components of theaccess point400. In particular, theprocessor406 facilitates the transmitting/receiving of high frequency signals. For example, theprocessor406 initiates the collection of measurement data at thesensors108. Additionally, theprocessor406 processes signal data (e.g., signal strengths, arrival times, etc.) from thesensors108 to determine locations of thesensors108.
• Thetiming crystal408 is part of an electronic oscillator circuit that may be used to keep track of time. In some examples, thetiming crystal408 may enable theprocessor406 to control the timing used to initiate transmitting and receiving signals. For example, thetiming crystal408 may be used to establish timing cycles (e.g., 2 second intervals) forbeaconing sensors108 within thevehicle102.
• TheBluetooth radio410 works in conjunction with theBluetooth antenna412 to communicatively couple to devices within thevehicle102. In some examples, theBluetooth radio410 may broadcast a signal and a mobile device may respond to the signal and pair with theaccess point400 to transmit location data, for example.
• ThePPM radio414 utilizes the 24GHz antenna416 to beacon andpower sensors108 within thevehicle102 and the 64 GHz antenna to receive signals from thesensors108.
• In operation,processor406 initiates a location beaconing sequence. ThePPM radio414 beacons thesensors108 with a high frequency signal via the 24GHz antenna416. Thesensors108 wake up (i.e., become active), obtain measurements and transmit the measurement data to theaccess point400 via high frequency signals. The 64GHz antenna418 receives the signals from thesensors108 and transfer the data to theprocessor406 for determination of a location based on signal strength and arrival time of the signal from thesensors108. In some examples, The 64GHz antenna418 broadcasts wireless messages to thesensors108 and, when powered, thesensors108 may broadcast messages at 64 GHz. The messages from thesensors108 may contain network addresses for thesensors108 and the 64GHz antenna418. The communication between the 64GHz antenna418 and thesensors108 can take several forms, such as request/response, representational state transfer, simple object access protocol, etc.
• FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of an examplevirtual sensor network500 that may be implemented in conjunction with examples disclosed herein. The examplevirtual sensor network500 includes asensor network502,mobile devices504,vehicle systems506,web services508 androadside data510, all of which provide measured sensor data and/or analysis data related to the sensor data of the examplevirtual sensor network500.
• To provide location-based condition data and/or geography-based condition models, thesensor network502, themobile devices504 and thevehicle systems506 gather data from at least one of theweb services508 and/or theroadside data510 to develop a geography-based model of conditions. As a result, location-based condition data may be transmitted to other vehicles so that each vehicle can appropriately operate a climate control system such as theclimate control systems100,200 ofFIGS. 1 and 2. More specifically, theweb services508 ofFIG. 5 may correspond to theweb services224 ofFIG. 2 and, thus, one or more climate control systems similar or identical to theclimate control system200 ofFIG. 2 may obtain location-based condition data from thevirtual sensor network500 via the web services224.
• In some examples, thesensor network502 transfers measurement data to theweb services508 via themobile devices504 to enable thevirtual sensor network500 to analyze (e.g., utilizing external data) the sensor data and return instructions (e.g., determined settings, recommended settings, etc.) based on the analysis. As a result, theweb services508 and/or theroadside data510 compare and/or analyze transmitted sensor data to determine settings based on analyzing previous data and/or patterns. According to such examples, the settings (e.g., learned settings) are forwarded to thevehicle systems506 so that thevehicle systems506 can operate respective climate controllers such as theclimate controller112 ofFIGS. 1 and 2.
• In some examples, data measured at any vehicle communicatively coupled to thevirtual sensor network500 may be used to develop location-based condition data. For example, at least one vehicle may measure an external condition (e.g., an ambient temperature, a particulate reading) and relay that external condition along with a measured position (e.g., a GPS position), geodetic coordinates (WPS-84, UTM, etc.), and a location in vehicle coordinates of the respective vehicle so that the location-based condition data can be collected for use by other vehicles coupled to thevirtual sensor network500. In some examples, the location-based condition data is based solely on sensor measurements taken at thevehicle102.
• FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a vehicleclimate control system600 that may be implemented with the examples disclosed herein. For example, theclimate control system600 may be implemented in the exampleclimate control system100 and/or by the climatecontrol system components200 described in connection withFIGS. 1 and 2. According to the illustrated example, theclimate control system600 is communicatively coupled to themobile device116 which, in turn, is communicatively coupled to the web services508. In this example, theweb services508 provide virtual sensor information, driver/occupant preference data, and/or external condition data (e.g., weather information, traffic, external air conditions, pollution patterns, allergy/pollen information, etc.).
• Theclimate control system600 of the illustrated example includes external sensors602a-c,internal sensors602d-g,access points604a-d,atouch display606, aperipheral interface608, amicrophone610, aninstrument panel cluster612, a frontcontrol interface module614, abody control module616, aperformance control module618, wired sensors620a-cand an airconditioning control module622. The exampleclimate control system600 also includes a vehicle climate controller (e.g., a climate controller module)624 that is communicatively coupled to a blowermotor speed control626 which, in turn, is communicatively coupled to ablower motor627 and ablower motor relay628. In some examples, theblower motor relay628 is also communicatively coupled to thebody control module616. According to the illustrated example ofFIG. 6, theclimate controller module624 directs/controls actuators630a-dhaving respective position sensors632a-d.The distributed vehicle sensors602 may correspond to any of thesensors108 ofFIG. 1, the access points604 may correspond to any of theaccess points106 ofFIG. 1, thebody control module616 may correspond to thevehicle controller104 ofFIG. 1 and theclimate control module624 may correspond to theclimate controller112 ofFIG. 1.
• In operation, the access points604 broadcast high frequency signals to the sensors602, the sensors602 become active, obtain measurements and transmit measurement data to the access points604. In turn, the access point604 that is nearest to each of the sensors602 may receive the measurement data from that sensor602 and send the measurement data to themobile device116, for example. Themobile device116 may process this measurement data together with location information (e.g., the locations of the sensors602) and/or information received from theweb services508 to generate one or more commands that are sent to theperipheral interface608. Theperipheral interface608 transfers the one or more commands to thebody control module616. The one or more commands received by thebody control module616 may require that additional ventilation be provided to one or more of the locations associated with the sensors602. Alternatively, the access points604 may send the measurement data to theperipheral interface608 directly.
• In some examples, thebody control module616 facilitates the operation of the vehicleclimate control system600. For example, thebody control module616 may receive a command from themobile device116 to dry the carpet in the location118 of thevehicle102 illustrated inFIG. 1. In turn, thebody control module616 may prepare an instruction for theclimate control module624 to operate theclimate control system600, for example.
• To control theclimate control system600, theclimate control module624 analyzes the instructions received from thebody control module616 to operate various components of theclimate control system600. For example, theclimate control module624 may analyze the instructions and determine that thevents114d,114c,theactuators630a,630band theblower motor627 are to be operated to change an environmental condition of thevehicle102.
• To change an environmental condition, theclimate control module624 powers the blower motor via theblower motor relay628 and controls the blower motor speed control (e.g., the air conditioner blower motor speed control)626 which, in turn, directs theblower motor627. Further, in this example, theclimate controller module624 directs theactuators630a,630bto actuate thevents114c,114dto vary an environmental condition of a vehicle cabin (e.g., the cabin110) near the location118 ofFIG. 1. In some examples any combination and/or portion of the actuators630 are controlled (e.g., independently controlled).
• In some examples, thebody control module616 may halt operation of theclimate control system600 based on performance data received from theperformance control module618. For example, the airconditioning control module622 monitors an air conditioning compressor clutch to determine if pressure and/or temperature is too high while compressing refrigerant. In some examples, the airconditioning control module622 may identify such a high pressure condition and send condition data to theperformance control module618. In turn, theperformance control module618 sends performance data to thebody control module614 and thebody control module616 may instruct the climate control system to halt operation to mitigate damage to theclimate control system600.
• In other examples, thebody control module616 may identify the presence of a passenger. In examples when a passenger is present, prior to operating theclimate control system600, thebody control module616 may prompt the passenger via thetouch display606 to authorize the operation of theclimate control system600. The passenger may select a portion of thetouch display606 to authorize the request and/or audibly authorize the request using themicrophone610. If the request is authorized, thebody control module616 operates theclimate control system600. However, if the request is not authorized, thebody control module616 postpones the operation until the passenger is no longer in the vehicle.
• In some examples in which a vehicleclimate control system600 is being upgraded/retrofitted to include functionality of the examples disclosed herein, a pre-existing peripheral interface may be replaced with the exampleperipheral interface608 to incorporate wireless communications with and/or control themobile device116, for example. Additionally or alternatively, themobile device116 includes custom climate control software, custom climate control sensor interface(s) and/or a custom climate control software programming interface (e.g., an application programming interface (API)). Further, a sensor (e.g., a passive sensor, etc.) that is communicatively coupled to the access points604, and thus themobile device116 may be placed, coupled and/or mounted within a cabin of the vehicle that is being upgraded/retrofitted without adding wiring and/or other internal components to support operation of the sensor, thereby enabling the enhancement of sensor capabilities and/or vehicle cabin analysis. For example, a vehicle manufacturer may provide a software interface on themobile device116 that allows an application developer unaffiliated with the manufacturer to develop an application that has some control of theclimate control systems100,200 and/or600.
• Flowcharts representative of example methods for implementing the vehicleclimate control systems100,200 and/or600 ofFIGS. 1, 2 and 6 are shown inFIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The example methods may be implemented using machine readable instructions that comprise a program for execution by a processor such as theprocessor1012 shown in theexample processor platform1000 discussed below in connection withFIG. 10. The program may be embodied in software stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with theprocessor1012, but the entire program and/or parts thereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than theprocessor1012 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware. Further, although the example program is described with reference to the flowcharts illustrated inFIGS. 7, 8 and 9, many other methods of implementing the example vehicleclimate control systems100,200 and/or600 may alternatively be used. For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined.
• As mentioned above, the example methods ofFIGS. 7, 8 and 9 may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readable instructions) stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, a random-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the term tangible computer readable storage medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. As used herein, “tangible computer readable storage medium” and “tangible machine readable storage medium” are used interchangeably. Additionally or alternatively, the example methods ofFIGS. 7, 8 and 9 may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/or machine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, a random-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the term non-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to include any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. As used herein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in a preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term “comprising” is open ended.
• Theexample method700 ofFIG. 7 begins when thevehicle controller104 initiates the collection of measurement data (block702). In the illustrated example, thevehicle controller104 receives the measurement data (block704). After receiving the measurement data, thevehicle controller104 processes the measurement data to identify an event (block706). Next, it is determined if an event was identified (block708). If an event was identified, the vehicle controller sends an instruction to theclimate controller112 based on the event (block710). If an event is not identified, the process proceeds back to block704. For example, thevehicle controller104 may process the measurement data and identify a high number of pollutants near theexternal sensor108k.In some examples, thevehicle controller104 may instruct theclimate controller112 to operate in full recirculation mode.
• FIG. 8 illustrates anexample method800 of performing the example processes ofblock702 to initiate the collection of measurement data. Themethod800 ofFIG. 8 begins with thevehicle controller104 sending a signal to theaccess points106 to collect data (block802). The access points106 beacon thesensors108 using high frequency signals (block804). The high frequency signals power thesensors108. In response to the beacon signals, thesensors108 become active and obtain measurement data (block806). Thesensors108 send the measurement data to the access points106 (block808). The access points106 collect the measurement data along with strength and arrival time of the signal (block810). The access points106 then determine the locations of thesensors108 using the strength and arrival times of the signals. The access points106 transmit the measurement data to the vehicle controller104 (block812). Themethod800 then returns toFIG. 7.
• FIG. 9 illustrates anexample method900 of performing the example processes ofblock706 to process the measurement data to identify an event. Themethod900 ofFIG. 9 begins when the measurement data is received from the access points106. Thevehicle controller104 determines locations based on the signal strength and times of arrival (block902). For example, thevehicle controller104 may receive measurement data and location information (i.e., signal strength and arrival time) fromaccess point106crelating to thesensor108d.Thevehicle controller104 identifies a location of thesensor108das being near theaccess point106c.Next, thevehicle controller104 determines if a mobile device is present (block904). If a mobile device is present, thevehicle controller104 gathers user parameters from a mobile device application (e.g., the preference selector222) (block906) and thevehicle controller104 proceeds to generate an instruction based on the processed data (block908). If a mobile device is not present atblock904, thevehicle controller104 proceeds to generate an instruction based on the processed data. Themethod900 then returns toFIG. 7.
• FIG. 10 is a block diagram of anexample processor platform1000 capable of executing the instructions to implement the methods ofFIGS. 7, 8 and 9 and the vehicle climate control systems ofFIGS. 1, 2 and 6. Theprocessor platform1000 can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a mobile device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personal digital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CD player, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, a personal video recorder, a set top box, or any other type of computing device.
• Theprocessor platform1000 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor1012. Theprocessor1012 of the illustrated example is hardware. For example, theprocessor1012 can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors or controllers from any desired family or manufacturer.
• Theprocessor1012 of the illustrated example includes a local memory1013 (e.g., a cache). Theprocessor1012 of the illustrated example is in communication with a main memory including avolatile memory1014 and anon-volatile memory1016 via abus1018. Thevolatile memory1014 may be implemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory device. Thenon-volatile memory1016 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to themain memory1014,1016 is controlled by a memory controller.
• Theprocessor platform1000 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit1020. Theinterface circuit1020 may be implemented by any type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, a universal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.
• In the illustrated example, one ormore input devices1022 are connected to theinterface circuit1020. The input device(s)1022 permit(s) a user to enter data and commands into theprocessor1012. The input device(s) can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, a camera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, a track-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.
• One ormore output devices1024 are also connected to theinterface circuit1020 of the illustrated example. Theoutput devices1024 can be implemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emitting diode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystal display, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactile output device, a printer and/or speakers). Theinterface circuit1020 of the illustrated example, thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, a graphics driver chip or a graphics driver processor.
• Theinterface circuit1020 of the illustrated example also includes a communication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, a modem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data with external machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network1026 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).
• Theprocessor platform1000 of the illustrated example also includes one or moremass storage devices1028 for storing software and/or data. Examples of suchmass storage devices1028 include floppy disk drives, hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAID systems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.
• Coded instructions1032 to implement the methods ofFIGS. 7, 8 and 9 may be stored in themass storage device1028, in thevolatile memory1014, in thenon-volatile memory1016, and/or on a removable tangible computer readable storage medium such as a CD or DVD.
• From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the above disclosed methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture enable more effective and customizable control of vehicle climate control systems. For example, the distributed sensors of the examples described herein are capable of detecting small, localized environmental events within a vehicle cabin as well as combining crowdsourced sensor information to mitigate or otherwise respond to the detected conditions or events more efficiently than wired sensors in current vehicles. For example, the sensors distributed throughout the vehicle cabin may be passively powered, wireless sensors that sense temperature(s), humidity, air contaminants or pollutants, etc. These distributed sensors may communicate with a controller of the vehicle via one or more access point devices, which serve to route the communications of the sensors and may also provide electrical power to the sensors via signals that are transmitted (e.g., broadcast) by the access points to the sensors. Additionally, the presence and location of a person (e.g., a driver, a passenger, etc.) may be detected using one or more of the sensors distributed throughout the cabin of the vehicle. For example, high radiant heat and/or carbon dioxide detected by sensors proximate the driver's seat may be used to determine that a person is located in the driver's seat. In these examples, the controller in the vehicle may prompt the detected person for any climate control preferences or may use default values associated with typical values found to be comfortable by the average person. Further, the examples disclosed herein enable a high degree of customization for additional functionality and/or capabilities (e.g., using new or different sensor technologies).
• Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent.

Claims (20)

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:

receiving data from sensors distributed within an interior of a vehicle at a first controller;

processing the data at the first controller to identify an event associated with the interior of the vehicle; and

sending an instruction based on the event from the first controller to a second controller of the vehicle to affect an operation of a climate control system of the vehicle.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein processing the data at the first controller includes locating the sensors within the vehicle to identify a location of the event.

3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein locating the sensors comprises measuring signal strength and arrival time of high frequency signals.

4. The method ofclaim 3, further including powering the sensors with the high frequency signals.

5. The method ofclaim 4, further including providing timing information to the sensors with the high frequency signals.

6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein processing the data at the first controller includes receiving user parameters from a personal mobile device application.

7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the instruction includes a location of where within the interior of the vehicle the event occurred and user parameters.

8. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising affecting the operation of the climate system within the location based on the instruction.

9. An apparatus comprising:

a first controller to receive data from sensors distributed within an interior of a vehicle, process the data to identify an event associated with the interior of the vehicle and send an instruction based on the event; and

a second controller of the vehicle to affect an operation of a climate control system of the vehicle based on the instruction.

10. The apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the first controller is to locate the sensors within the vehicle to identify a location within the interior of the vehicle of the event.

11. The apparatus ofclaim 10, further including access points to measure signal strength and arrival time of high frequency signals to locate the sensors.

12. The apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the first controller is to receive user parameters from a personal mobile device application.

13. The apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the first controller is to include a location of where the event occurred within the interior of the vehicle and user parameters in the instruction.

14. The apparatus ofclaim 13, wherein the second controller is to operate the climate system within the location based on the instruction.

15. A tangible computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to at least:

receive data from sensors distributed within an interior of a vehicle;

process the data to identify an event associated with the interior of the vehicle; and

send an instruction based on the event to affect an operation of a climate control system of the vehicle.

16. The computer-readable medium as defined inclaim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to locate the sensors within the vehicle to identify a location of the event.

17. The computer-readable medium as defined inclaim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to measure signal strength and arrival time of high frequency signals to locate the sensors.

18. The computer-readable medium as defined inclaim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to receive user parameters from a personal mobile device application.

19. The computer-readable medium as defined inclaim 14, wherein the instruction includes a location of where within the interior of the vehicle the event occurred and user parameters.

20. The computer-readable medium as defined inclaim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the processor to operate the climate system within the location based on the instruction.

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